Haaland, De Bruyne, Doku prepare to return

According to coach Pep Guardiola, the attacking trio of Erling Haaland, Kevin de Bruyne, Jeremy Doku have all returned to full training and can play from the match against Huddersfield Town in the third round of the FA Cup.

"They are ready to play, having had two or three training sessions with the team," Guardiola said at his pre-match press conference. "Doku, De Bruyne are fine, Haaland is a little bit better. They are improving and hopefully they can be back soon."

Haaland shoots during a training session with the Man City team on the evening of January 3 in Manchester, England. Photo: mancity.com — Haaland shoots during a training session with the Man City team on the evening of January 3 in Manchester, England. Photo: *mancity.com*

Haaland started all 14 Premier League matches before injuring his foot in the 0-1 loss at Aston Villa on December 6. Doku was injured and has been out since the 3-2 win over RB Leipzig in the Champions League on November 28.

De Bruyne suffered a more serious problem when he suffered a hamstring injury and was out since the Premier League opener against Burnley. The Belgian midfielder was registered for the 2-0 win over Sheffield in the 20th round of the Premier League on December 30, but did not play.

Guardiola admitted that he did not know whether the trio of attacking stars would return in the match against Huddersfield or the next match against Newcastle in the 21st round of the Premier League on January 13. In particular, the Spanish coach was especially cautious about De Bruyne's injury. "The important thing is to try to avoid a recurrence," he said. "What De Bruyne needs, like all players with long-term injuries, is to accumulate many weeks of training and playing minutes. A recurrence of the injury would be the worst thing."

De Bruyne at Man City's training ground on January 3. Photo: mancity.com — De Bruyne at Man City's training ground on January 3. Photo: *mancity.com*

Guardiola also revealed that Bernardo Silva, Kalvin Phillips, Matheus Nunes, Scott Carson were absent due to illness, John Stones had not recovered from injury, and Rodri returned to Madrid to mourn his grandmother. "Family matters are the most important. Hopefully Rodri will be back soon," said the 52-year-old coach.

After playing nine games in December, including two wins in Saudi Arabia to win the FIFA Club World Cup, Man City played just four in January. "I think the Premier League made a great decision to schedule a tough schedule around Christmas and then cool down," Guardiola said. "We won a lot even in difficult times. It was good to have those weeks to refresh the team."

Hong Duy

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